Blog, throwback thursday

Throwback Thursday #64 – Spaces and Places

Maggie

Surprise! It’s Maggie again, stepping in for Lauren this week. Today we are going to amble around through the places of your youth.

This week’s prompt is: Spaces and Places

I had four different homes while I was growing up. You may have moved a bit, too. Think about the place you most consider home, or answer for all of them. And as always, you can free write rather than answer the questions. It is totally up to you!

  1. Did you grow up in an urban or a rural environment? How would you describe the geographic area where you lived? Was it mostly buildings or mostly trees? Four seasons, or always warm or cold?
  2. What about the place in which you resided? Was it a house, an apartment, a mobile home, a boat, or something else? Did you like it and do you miss it now?
  3. What about the bedroom you had in the home? Did you share it with someone or did you have it all to yourself? If you shared, with whom? How was the space decorated?
  4. When you did family activities at home, in what room did you spend your time? What did you do together? TV? Cards? Board Games? Reading?
  5. Did your friends’ living situation seem similar to your own? Did you prefer to be at your friend’s home or did you prefer your own? Did your friends like to hang out at your house?
  6. What kind of school did you attend? Large or small? Religious or secular? Public or private?
  7. Did you attend church, synagogue, temple, or some other religious facility? If so was it large and ornate, or small and homey? Did you feel comfortable there?
  8. Did you have a hang out spot? Skating rink? Mall? Burger joint? Bowling alley? Friend’s house?
  9. Where did you typically go on dates (if you dated)? Movies? Out to a restaurant? At home watching tv? Library? Gym? Dances? Clubs? Mall?
  10. What kind of place did you live in when you first moved away from home? Was it a big adjustment or were you ready to strike out on your own? Describe your first place.

Did you grow up in an urban or a rural environment? How would you describe the geographic area where you lived? Was it mostly buildings or mostly trees? Four seasons, or always warm or cold?

I lived in four different areas during my years living at home. Two of them were quite rural with four seasons. Even the buildings in the closest towns were not really that big. The other two places differed greatly. One was farther south with consistent warmer weather all year round. The other had four seasons but being further north, the winters were pretty cold. Both of the latter two places were small suburbs in cookie cutter houses.

What about the  house or place in which you resided? Was it a house, an apartment, a mobile home, a boat, or something else? Did you like it and do you miss it now?

We always lived in houses. My favorite by far was my grandmother’s house in the Valley. I loved that house and miss it terribly.

What about the bedroom you had in the home? Did you share it with someone or did you have it all to yourself? If you shared, with whom? How was the space decorated?

I was the youngest of four children so I never had a room of my own until everyone moved away. I shared a room with my sisters until I was a junior in high school. Then I decorated my room with posters, and I think I even painted the walls a pale pink. I was happy to finally have space of my own although I did miss my sisters. Just not enough to give up my space!

When you did family activities at home, in what room did you spend your time? What did you do together? TV? Cards? Board Games? Reading?

All our houses had a living room and that is where we spent our time. We watched tv together (roller derby, Disney, and all my mom’s favorite war and Western movies), talked, played games like Twister and listened to music (records and 8 tracks).

Did your friends’ living situation seem similar to your own? Did you prefer to be at your friend’s home or did you prefer your own? Did your friends like to hang out at your house?

My friends loved to come to our house. We had cool parents. I would spend time at my friends’ houses, but I was always awkward there. Not because of the house, but because family dynamics seemed so distant from ours. Most of my friends lived in houses similar to my own.

What kind of school did you attend? Large or small? Religious or secular? Public or private?

I always attended public school so no discussion of religion was allowed. All my schools were small in comparison to schools today.

Did you attend church, synagogue, temple, or some other religious facility? If so was it large and ornate, or small and homey? Did you feel comfortable there?

We always went to church. All churches I attended were small and intimate. Everyone knew everyone. There were relatively few things I would consider ornate. Always wooden pews and stained glass windows, usually both an organ and a piano. I always felt at home at the churches we attended.

Did you have a hang out spot? Skating rink? Mall? Burger joint? Bowling alley? Friend’s house?

I never lived in a terribly urban area, so there were no real hang out places. We usually hung out with friends at someone’s house. We had huge yards so we played flag football, badminton, or horse shoes. A few friends had swimming pools so that was always a treat to get invited there!

Where did you typically go on dates (if you dated)? Movies? Out to a restaurant? At home watching tv? Library? Gym? Dances? Clubs? Mall?

Dates were usually going to the movies, occasionally out to eat, or hanging out at someone’s house. It was not unusual for my dates to come to my house and hang out with my family and watch tv. We always knew each other’s parents because of that. I enjoyed the extended family vibe.

What kind of place did you live in when you first moved away from home? Was it a big adjustment or were you ready to strike out on your own? Describe your first place.

When I graduated from high school I joined the Air Force so my first home away from home was a military dormitory. The first few months were tough, but after training was over, it was like living with a bunch of friends.  It was a learning curve making my own decisions and following my own rules.  I always missed home, but I did love spreading my wings.

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37 thoughts on “Throwback Thursday #64 – Spaces and Places”

  1. We’ve had many homes growing up. My father was in government service which meant postings after 2-3 years. Sometimes we changed homes because the rent given by the government increased and we could afford bigger homes. At 7 homes we lived in, that I remember.

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    1. Moving so frequently can be hard on children but it can also help them develop skills in adapting. Which was it for you? We moved four times and I seemed to adjust well.

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    1. There were ups and downs of course. I probably did not fully appreciate them until they had moved out. I cannot imagine having no sisters. That must have been challenging.

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  3. We lived in a tiny house on a dirt road in for seasons from when I was 3 to 13. It is the place in my dreams that I recognize as my Home Icon. I shared the bedroom with my two brothers who had the bunk beds and I had the single bed on the other side of the room. My sister slept on a fold out couch in the living room, which I got to take over once she was out of the house. When we moved when I was 13, I had my own tiny room and I decorated it with posters of Davey Jones, Herman’s Hermits, the Stones, and a surly looking Bob Dylan with a cigarette in his mouth. I liked a little of everything.

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  4. From the blog posts of yours I’ve read, Maggie, I think I could have answered several of these on your behalf 😉 Many of my answers would be similar. We were in a more urban area, but we still hung out at home(s). At least until I could drive.

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    1. Well, I guess I do go on and on about my life! 🤣 I think generationally people were similar unless they lived in really large cities or really remote farms. It was a nice way to grow up.

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  6. Here are my answers, Maggie.
    1) I grew up in an intense urban environment. A crowded, working-class district close to the docks in South London. It was mostly old Victorian buildings, but we did have large public parks offering green spaces.
    2) Before I was 8, we lived in shared houses with relatives. When I was 8, we moved into a rented masionette. (An apartment wiith two bedrooms upstairs.) I liked it a lot, but never missed it when we moved away.
    3) I had my own bedroom. It had an old double bed in it, a wardrobe, desk, bookcase, and chair. I was allowed to choose the decor myself, and picked wallpaper that was a bamboo design, so it looked like a jungle. I had my own very old TV, and a 1930s typewriter in the room. I was very lucky!
    4) I spent a lot of time reading in my room, but would also watch TV downstairs with my parents.
    5) Most of my friends came from large families, and shared bedrooms with siblings. They liked to come to my house to get away from that.
    6) I attended large public schools, both Junior School and Secondary. They were only a short walk from where we lived.
    7) We were not churchgoers, and not religious. (Though I was baptised)
    8) I played out in the streets or the local parks. There were no shopping malls or bowling alleys then. When I was a teenager, we would go to the cinema, burger bars, or for drinks at the pub. (We lied about our age to get served.)
    9) Once I started dating, we did much the same as in 8). Cinema/Pubs.
    10) When I was 19, I moved into a shared house in the London suburbs with friends. It was a 1930s-built house with a living room, kitchen, one bathroom, and a large back garden. (Yard) Car-Parking was on the street. There were 5 of us in that 3-bed house, and I shared a room. It was a huge challenge to get washing done, eat properly, budget for bills and shopping, and to adjust to having to consider the wishes of others.
    Best wishes, Pete.

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    2. As a secular family, how did you come to be baptized, Pete?

      Moving out for the first time is really an important step in the transition to adulthood. In some ways the military was easy because many of my needs were taken care of.

      Do you have any pics of the places you lived in?

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        1. Thanks for sharing the post, Pete. I have never lived in such close proximity to anyone. My parents lived in an older apartment in Ohio. It was a house converted into several independent units. It was strange to me to live so close to other people.

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  17. You moved around a lot compared to me. I lived in the same house until I got married, apart from that not so different were we? 💜💜💜

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